Duck Duck Grey Duck
by luverofjamesandlily
Summary: Deacon's kids discover "take your kids to work day" and won't rest until they get to visit their dad at work.


**I am ignoring the events of 1x10 for the purpose of this little story. I could be persuaded to write more, on anything or the events of that episode! Leave me a review and let me know what you think!**

Deacon's phone chimed, the soft ringtone a change from his blaring alarm that sounded when a work call came in.

"Morning, honey," he greeted into his phone, walking out of the kitchen at work. When the door swung shut behind him, it silenced the voices of Chris ribbing Street for botching his last sparring match against her and the sound of Luca inhaling a bowl of cereal. Hondo was working out in the gym down the hall and Deacon was pretty sure Tan had snuck away to find a quiet corner to nap in.

"Good morning. I missed you this morning," she said.

"Yeah, I had that team meeting early this morning, before our shift started. I'm sorry, I thought I told you last night," he said. Annie laughed and he smiled reflexively at the sound, tugging the phone a little closer to his ear to soak the sound in.

"Last night I was asleep when you came home," she reminded him and he grimaced. "Which is fine. I went to bed early, as soon as the kids went down. Matthew was a terror last night, apparently you promised him you would play with his new soccer ball when you got home from work? He would not go to sleep."

"I know I did, but I also told him it would be whenever I was home early next. I'm sorry that it didn't work out," he said, smiling at a man walked by him, receiving a head nod in reply. He walked along the hallway, looking out the window at the bright morning sunshine trailing down over the city.

"It isn't a big deal," she said, voice trailing off.

"But?" he prompted.

"But, are you busy at work right now?" she asked, and Deacon could hear the eagerness in her voice.

"No, we were supposed to have a training today but the instructor's sick. Mumford's team is on call and nothings come in yet. Why?"

"I have just been informed that it is 'take your children to work day' and Lila and Matthew have been relentless about seeing you. I'm not sure where they heard that term, maybe at daycare the other day? But I thought if you weren't too busy, it might be nice for the kids to be able to see you at work, see where you go every day. And most nights," she added.

"I would love that," he said immediately. "Are the kids ready to go now?"

"Just about, I'm getting the baby ready and we can be out the door. It's fine with Hondo?"

"I can't see why it wouldn't be, he loves seeing the kids. Besides, everyone's bored and even if we get a call, Mumford gets it. The kids will entertain them all. But I'll go check with Hondo. Call me when you're on your way."

"I will. I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he replied. Just before she hung up the phone, he heard her go "No, no, Matthew not in your mouth," as the line went dead. He smiled to himself as he turned around and headed for the gym. He could hear Hondo before he could see him, the rhythmic beating of Hondo's fist against the boxing dummy loud.

"Ready for a break?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard over Hondo's workout.

"Nah, I just got started," Hondo said, grinning.

"That's funny, I thought I heard you get started as soon as we heard the training got canceled."

"Exactly." Hondo finished his rep and jumped down from the ring, unwrapping his gloves and wrists. "Wanna go a round?"

"I would love to, but I have a favor to ask," Deacon said, tamping down a grin when Hondo's eyebrow shot up. "Apparently the kids got wind of a thing called take your kids to work day and decided that day is today. Annie wants to bring them in. I figured since training's canceled, it wouldn't be too much of an imposition?"

"That's a great idea. We love seeing the kids. And Annie. Most days, we wish Annie were on the team instead of you." Hondo elbowed Deacon, stepping back to avoid a sharp punch to his stomach.

Deacon called Annie back and gave her the greenlight. She told the kids the plan while he was on the phone and he had to hold the phone away from his ear a few inches to save his eardrums from their excited shrieks. She had them corralled and into the car in no time, she managed to impress him every day with her ability to handle and care for their children.

"All right you all know the drill, no swearing, no blood, and no talk of anything more gruesome than they would see on Sesame Street," Deacon recited with a pointed look toward Luca. Luca grinned, shrugging innocently.

"I can't help the fact that your children are unnaturally perceptive," he said.

"This sounds like a good story," Street said, hopping onto the kitchen counter, settling back on his hands, turning his head toward Luca.

Chris snorted from her seat at one of the tables, "It involves Luca, they're never good stories."

"About a year back, I had gotten clipped by a bullet during this bank heist. I was fine, really, barely a graze," Luca started to say.

"A graze, my ass," Hondo muttered. "Almost bled out on the bank's floor."

"Anyway," Luca said loudly, drawing Street's attention again. "Annie invited me over for dinner a little while later, and after dinner, Lila and Matthew wanted to play cops, where they're the cops and I'm a bad guy. I couldn't say no. Have you seen their puppy dog eyes? The most hardened criminal wouldn't be able to resist."

"It's been known to happen though, usually with broccoli at dinner time when they want to plant it in the backyard instead of eat it," Deacon said, but a smile was tugging at his lips and he motioned for Luca to continue the story.

"So we were play wrestling on the floor, they almost had me pinned when Lila pointed out my shirt had changed colors. My stitches popped open and I started bleeding through my shirt," Luca said.

"And onto my carpet," Annie said, standing in the doorway with the stroller and Lila and Matthew in front of her.

"And he proceeded to explain why he was bleeding in the first place to these two rascals," Deacon said, striding forward to pick them both up and twirl them around.

"Daddy!" they giggled, laughing as he whirled them around a few times before setting them down carefully, keeping a hand on Matthew's back as he wobbled precariously. Luca came up behind him and scooped Matthew up.

Deacon leaned over the stroller to kiss Annie, for a half a beat longer than he usually did at work. It felt like ages since he had seen her.

A wolf whistle cut through their kiss and he pulled away to grin ruefully at her. She looked gorgeous, her long blond hair pulled up into a messy bun and in jeans and a dark blue shirt that highlighted her eyes.

"Thank you, Street, that was very professional of you," Annie said, arching an eyebrow at their newest team member. He beamed at them and Deacon was happy he was working out. He hadn't been too sure of the kid at first, but he had definitely proven himself since then.

The kids loved his teammates, mostly for the attention they gave them and the fact that they could use Hondo and Luca as human jungle gyms.

"Flip me!" Lila said, holding Hondo's hands tight and walking up his legs and stomach, before flipping herself back over.

"I think you did that yourself, little lady," Hondo told her, his expression fond as he looked down at her. Deacon smiled at them. Things hadn't worked out the way he had planned, but he was honored to work with Hondo and the rest of them.

Chris walked over to Annie, to gaze down at the baby.

"She's gotten so big," she said, sticking a finger in front of Harper's fist.

"They tend to do that. One minute they're this size and then they're that big," Annie said, gesturing to Matthew, who was in the middle of telling Street and Luca a fascinating story about the lizard he had found in the backyard a few days ago.

Deacon unbuckled Harper from her stroller and cradled her in the crook of his arm. She blinked solemnly up at him and he kissed the top of her head. She was their serious baby. Lila had been the crier, ridden with colic that no one had been able to help her with and Matthew had been a giggly baby, laughing at everything. Harper, though, observed everything around her. She'd make an excellent cop with that disposition, but he hadn't told that to Annie.

"I want baby time," Luca said, holding his hands out in a "gimme" motion. Deacon handed her over, carefully transferring her little head into Luca's waiting arms. The kitchen thrummed with energy it didn't usually contain. A typical day was either tired cops eating breakfast to finish their shift out before heading home or a hurried bite to eat in between calls and meetings. This casual, unhurried conversation was a nice change.

Hondo had knelt down to listen to Lila, his expression intent and entirely focused on Deacon's little girl. He caught a few words here and there, "Princess Sofia" and "dresses," and decided she was telling Hondo about her new idea for her Halloween costume. Hondo acted like she was telling him the facts about their latest mission.

Annie moved closer to him and he wound an arm around her waist. She rested her head against his shoulder and they looked out onto their family, their children and the team. Luca was showing Harper around the kitchen and had stopped to look out one of the windows with her. Matthew had both Tan and Street listening to another story about a lizard, which Deacon wasn't entirely sure had actually taken place. He'd have to talk to Matthew later about telling the truth, even when you have an attentive audience to entertain.

Chris had taken a seat on one of the stools when Luca had taken the baby with him, checking her phone when Lila appeared at her side and tapped her knee. Hondo stood up and stretched his legs out from the crouch he had been in to listen to Lila. He followed Lila over to Chris.

"Uncle Hondo said you can teach me how to hit people," she said, looking up at Chris with what Deacon was sure were the biggest puppy dog eyes Chris had ever been subjected to.

"I did not say hit people, I said things. And I said we had to check with your parents first," Hondo said quickly.

"We will save boxing lessons for another day, young lady. We finally have a day to spend with your dad, so let's do that, all right?" Annie said, firmly enough Lila knew not to argue. She did make Chris pinkie promise she would teach her the next time Lila was at work.

The kids pulled the team throughout the building, a mixture of learning where things were and trying to give the adults a tour, as if they weren't the ones who worked there. When they tired of that game, they found the boxing ring.

"A stage!" Lila cried, bounding over to it. "Up, Daddy," she ordered, looking behind her to locate Deacon. He waited pointedly until she added, "Please." He hoisted her up and Matthew followed suit. "You all need to come up too, we'll play a game!"

It was a testament to how adorable they all found his children that every single team member let themselves be ordered to sit in a circle and play "duck duck grey duck" in the boxing ring of their gym at work. Annie didn't join in, citing the need to watch the baby but Deacon watched her take pictures on her phone of the game, a smile overtaking her face.

Luca was the kids' favorite one to pick. He got up and would run a few steps before tripping in a spectacular fashion, usually involving a somersault or flip of some kind, letting the kids get back to his spot before he could catch them.

Mumford's team walked by and Deacon could tell they were gearing up to make fun of the team when Lila saw them and bound over to the side of the ring.

"Would you like to play with us? Uncle Luca is very bad at running," she whispered, sticking her face through the ropes that made the boundary of the ring up.

"Any other day, we would love to. But we have to go out and take care of something," Mumford said. Hondo made to stand up but Mumford waved him away. "Nothing we can't handle. Enjoy the day." Hondo settled back down and Matthew ran over to Deacon.

"I'm glad you don't have to leave, Daddy," he said and Deacon smiled back at him, but he hated the fact that Matthew and Lila expected him to leave all of the time. He loved his job and wouldn't change it but sometimes he wished the hours were more family friendly.

"I am too, honey," Hondo said, rubbing Matthew's back. "I am too."


End file.
